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Daikoku Festival at Kanda Myojin Shrine - Tokyo Hotels .com

Daikoku Festival at Kanda Myojin Shrine

At Tokyo's ancient Kanda Myojin Shrine, you can participate in the Daikoku festival's bracing purification ceremony, known as Kanchu misogi. White-gown-clad participants of all ages, from teenagers to senior citizens, run through the temple and perform Torifune, a traditional Shinto warm-up exercise. Afterward, they enter the sacred bathing pools called misogiba, which are filled with cold water and feature a large pillar made of ice. Here, participants pour cold water over themselves from head to toe. This ritual is especially important for those who will turn 20 in the coming year and enter adulthood. And while there is of course always a large crowd of spectators, all are invited to participate.

The Kanda Myojin Shrine is just a short walk from Tokyo's Ochanomizu Station.